1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to reeds, which are made of cane or other plant material and are used for woodwind instruments, and in particular relates to a composition and method for treating reeds to improve quality and durability of the reeds.
2. Description of the Related Art
Most natural reeds for woodwind instruments are made from cane, a large fibrous plant related to grasses. Professional musicians have long realized that cane reeds have a limited useful lifetime because they dry out, causing warpage, which degrades their musical qualities. In addition, organic debris from mouth tissue and saliva are constantly forced into the pulpy reed material when the instrument is played, obstructing the ability of the reed to vibrate freely and therefore to produce musical tones. Microorganisms such as molds and bacteria also of ten colonize cane reeds, rendering them unsanitary, accelerating their degradation by producing extreme acid or alkaline conditions, and further obstructing their free vibration.
Prior methods devised to prolong the useful life of reeds include impregnating the reeds with water-resistant materials, including plastics and oils. See for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,776,566 of Newton; 3,340,759 of Petzke; and 4,856,405 of Humphrey and British Patent No. 1,160,838. The majority of woodwind musicians find that reeds treated with such materials can no longer be hydrated and have unacceptable tonal qualities.
Other attempts to overcome the problem include making synthetic reeds (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 2,230,933 of Caire). Generally such reeds also have unacceptable tonal qualities.
Treatments with hydrogen peroxide have been used by professional musician to clean reeds, but such treatments do not protect the reeds from drying, and in fact generally accelerate reed degradation.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a composition and method for treating reeds which allow reeds to remain moist and/or to be hydrated without altering their hydrophilic qualities, while retaining acceptable tonal qualities.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a composition and method for treating reeds which removes organic debris from the reeds including associated microorganisms, and inhibits growth of microorganisms.
Other objects and advantages will be more fully apparent from the following disclosure and appended claims.